Minoru Mori

[1] He joined the real estate business of his father, Taikichiro Mori, after graduating from the University of Tokyo and was president and CEO of Mori Building, of which he and his older brother Kei's (a university professor) families owned 100%.

The Shanghai World Financial Center, once China's tallest building, was completed in 2008.

Mori acknowledged the influence of Le Corbusier but believed he had surpassed the Swiss architect's urban designs, particularly in the Roppongi Hills project.

In 2006, Mori's last development, Omotesando Hills, opened near Harajuku station consisting of a set of ramped shopping floors.

[3] In 2009, he was honoured as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.